South Gloucestershire | Archive | 2006 | February | 10
From the archive, first published Friday 10th Feb 2006.
A THORNBURY florist is likely to face months of waiting for the restoration of her damaged shop front which was hit by a car explosion that has rocked the town.
T & J Owens on the High Street was hit by Clive Hayes' blazing MG Rover which caught fire last week. The details of the crash are not yet known.
The damage to the shop, which took four council workers three hours to clear up, is likely to be temporarily boarded up for at least a month.
Owner Jean Owen said: "We have had visits from engineers and workers who are looking at the walls and windows broken into.
"They are also looking upstairs measuring the impact the change of shop front would have on that.
"With all this work and the wait for insurance I can see this taking months."
The shop front, which prior to the crash contained a Valentine's Day display that had only been put up the week before, is now covered in chipboard and signs stating that the business is still open.
Mrs Owen said: "It is a shame. The shop did look so pretty and now it looks a bit of a mess.
"We had about 24 vases broken, summing up to several hundreds of pounds.
"But I have hope that all this will not put customers off. We have been here 40 years and have a good connection with the people we sell to."
Reflecting on last week, Mrs Owen said that she and her customers were still in shock about what has happened.
"I'm just thankful no one here was hurt," she said. "It could have been so much worse if the car had come into the shop.
"The customers have been great. On Saturday we received cards, biscuits and jam donuts from people wishing. It was all very touching."
© Newsquest Media Group 2008